A US woman who shot and killed her husband and two adult children before taking her own life is thought to have committed the shocking crime as a result of being ostracised from the religion she was raised in.

A federal judge sentenced a former Arkansas judge Wednesday to five years in prison — a stiffer punishment than prosecutors recommended — after he admitted giving young male defendants lighter sentences in return for personal benefits that included sexual favours.

Every time I tell a mate I’m doing a story on cryptocurrency, they invariably ask me the same two questions: should they invest their own hard-earned money, and which cryptocurrency will get them a Lamborghini/yacht/island quickest?

In a 60 Minutes online exclusive, reporter Liz Hayes quizzed Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on his relationship with the unpredictable Twitter aficionado and US president Donald Trump ahead of their meeting at the White House Friday.

Three on trial over Thai drug import to WA

One of three men accused of importing methylamphetamine from Thailand to Perth claims he does not know how he came to possess the drug.

Prosecutor Hylton Quail told the West Australian District Court on Tuesday that Randy Gary Edwards and Benjamin Gordon Climo travelled together in 2013 with a boxed welder among Climo's luggage when he was stopped by Customs officials.

Inside the package was 192.8g of almost 75 per cent pure methylamphetamine, Mr Quail said.

"That's not meant to be there," Climo allegedly told authorities.

In a separate incident in 2013, Edwards travelled from Thailand to Perth with a fourth man, who was previously dealt with by the court.

Mr Quail said the man had consumed 152 thumb-sized pellets of methylamphetamine, which totalled 596.4g with a purity of 58.1 per cent, when he was stopped by Customs officials.

Barry Kevin Carter allegedly arranged and paid for the man's flight and was supposed to obtain the drugs, he said.